Fireflies
by Berytni
Summary: The middle of a forest never really stroke me as the most wheelchair accessible place to go as a family, but I guess their hearts were in the right place. Good thing Tina was allowed to come along.
1. Nine Shades of Red

**A/N: I'm not honestly sure where this idea came from, but it wouldn't leave me alone, so I decided to write it anyways. Plus now that I'm almost finished with _Let the Flames Begin_, I need something to occupy myself. This shouldn't be more then seven or eight chapters, so it'll be on the shorter side of my stories. Anyways, enjoy.**

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Honestly when my dad announced that the Abrams family was going to spend a week in the woods, I wasn't sure _what _to think. Our family _never_ went out of town. If you knew the first think about me, it wasn't hard to see why. As I finished my last minute packing of toiletries, I began to wonder if my parents were thinking. The middle of a forest never really stroke me as the most wheelchair accessible place to go as a family, but I guess their hearts were in the right place.

When the doorbell rang, a smile appeared on my face and I pushed myself away from my bureau to the full-length mirror across the room. After two strokes of a comb though my untamed hair, I looked decent enough to answer the door.

"Artie be _careful_!" Mom scolded from the dining room as I skidded around the corner that led to the kitchen.

"Sorry mom." I smirked, looking back at her displeased face as I mindlessly unlocked the front door. She definitely worried too much. I was already paralyzed from the waist down – there wasn't much else I could screw up.

After backing myself up, I reached for the doorknob and swung open the door to reveal our guest: Tina Cohen-Chang. Her silky black and blue streaked hair was woven into two lose congruent braids. A fiery red cadets cap sat atop her head. She looked totally ready for a week in the woods in a pair of camouflage Capri's and a black V-neck tee shirt that complimented her figure. Even more so, her thumbs were tucked within the straps of her backpack.

"Arthur Abrams, are you for real?" She asked looking at me up and down.

"W-what?" I asked surveying myself.

"We're spending a week in the woods, not attending a science convention." She said taking a step inside and closing the door behind her.

"What's wrong with the way I'm dressed?" I questioned, turning myself ninety degrees to the right.

"Normal people don't wear beige dress pants and a white button down shirt to go _camping_." She said resting her hands on her knees and looking me dead in the eyes, eyebrows raised.

"Well _I_ think the way I'm dressed is appropriate." I said placing my hands in my lap.

"Too bad." She said making her way to the back of my chair. I crossed my arms like a five year old as she pushed me back to my bedroom. This definitely wasn't the first time she found the need to fix my attire, and it wouldn't be the last either.

"I like this one." She said pulling out a black tee shirt with a series of colorful Gibson made guitars on the front. After taking the shirt off the hanger she hung it over her arm and continued browsing.

"And this. Perfect." She said taking a pair of neatly folded blue jeans off the lowest shelf and adding them to her arm.

"Is this really necessary?" I asked as Tina walked back towards me. She folded the articles of clothing in my lap before looking down at me with her hands on her hips. There was my answer.

"Fine." I mumbled rolling my eyes. She smiled resting her hands on my knees and kissed the side of my face. I suppose the extra effort would be worth it if it made her happy.

"Art, your mom's calling. Hurry up." She called from behind the door.

"Hey, _you _try getting pants on when your legs don't work." I said pulling the waistband over my pelvis. It was intended to be a joke, but the silence afterwards made me realize that I made her feel bad. As fast as I physically could, I finished up and wheeled myself to the door and prayed that she was still there waiting.

"Sorry." I said tilting my chin down and looking up at her. She simply smiled and mouthed her forgiveness before squeezing between my chair and the doorframe. She understood, and for that I was grateful.

The three-hour car trip was relatively painless for me. For one, my family had a wheelchair accessible van that made travel easier. Secondly, I fell asleep half way though leaving Tina alone in the back row with my thirteen-year-old sister, Nora. After my mother reached back from the passenger seat to wake me up, I noticed a pile of crumpled papers in my lap from Tina's signature stationary. With one of the papers held in my gloved hand, I looked back at Tina. One of her pigtails was replaced by a dozen sloppily done braids obviously done by my sister. She held her arms over her chest in a child like manor as she blew a strand of hair out of her face. Tina Cohen-Chang was not pleased.

"Amazing. Even with your hair like that, you _still _end up being the prettiest girl I know." I said twisting at the waist to face her as I adjusted my glasses. Her mouth curved and arms plopped down on the seat from her chest. Mission accomplished.

"Ew." Nora commented, making a bitter face, as she pushed herself from her seat. At that point I couldn't decide whether having Nora around for the full week was going to be painful or amusing.

By the time Tina got though the tightly woven together bungee cords around my wheels, the work of an overprotective mother, the rest of the family was ready to hit the trails. That's the one think I didn't like about my family, they were always one or two steps ahead of me. At the same time, it's what I loved about Tina - she did things at Artie pace.

When I saw the bedding of the trail, soft mulch, I began to wonder what my parents were thinking by bringing me here. It was nothing I couldn't handle, but squishy ground just made my transportation even more challenging then usual. Tina walked ten feet behind the rest of the pack with me as she fixed the monstrosity that my sister made out of her hair.

"How are you holding up?" She asked twisting a black elastic band around the newly formed pigtail.

"Could be worse." I said, counting yet another splinter that found its way under my nail bed. Though the trail was frustrating, I tried to forget about my disability and focus on the beautiful greenery around me. You definitely didn't see trees that big in Lima.

"Artie, I can't stand this anymore." Tina said stopping.

"Fine…go catch up with my family then. I don't care." I said in a harsher tone then needed, as I continued to roll on.

"Not what I meant." She said catching up to the back of my chair. Once I felt her hands securely around the handles in the back, I withdrew my tired hands from my wheels and into my lap.

"Thank you." I said looking back at her, and thinking how _lucky _I was.

The campsite was a flat, cleared out plain surrounded by trees and new trail openings. In the middle was a medium sized fire pit, surrounded by old mossy longs arranged in a rectangle.

"Nora, Tina…here's your tent." Dad said taking one of the many bags off his shoulder. I watched Tina's eyes widen as my father placed the package in her hands. "Now a good place for it would be over near that big pine tree, it looks nice and flat."

"W-wait a minute." I butted in, the whole party looked down at me. "Don't you think three people _and _a wheelchair is a little much for one tent? Plus…Nora kicks in her sleep, and Tina's just not used to that and…"

"Artie, you could have just said you'd prefer to bunk with Tina." Mom smirked, rolling her eyes as she took the second tent away from my father. My cheeks turned about nine shades of red as I tried to think of a way to defend myself.

"Let's go, you." Tina said, tossing the tent in my lap as she pushed me though the campsite.

"Have you ever put up one of these?" I asked looking though the directions in an attempt to find the side in English.

"I was hoping you knew how to." Tina said sorting though the parts on the forest floor.

"Yes you know…with all of my camping experience and stuff." I said with a sarcastic tone.

She stuck out her tongue at me in a childlike manner before putting together two long black rods. I compared what she was doing to the instructions, and they didn't come close to matching up. I didn't stop here though, curious about how _she _thought a tent was put together.

"There, done." Tina said standing up off the ground and shaking dirt off her pants. Our "tent" stood at her waist and leaned to the right with a pole sticking out of the side. She was obviously proud of her work, but after it fell over in one big heap, I had to rain on her parade.

"Here, I'll do it." I sighed, playfully rolling my eyes at her as I handed her the instruction booklet. As I squared up to the clump of waterproof fabric and netting, Tina leaned up against a near by tree and crossed her arms. From the inside of the "tent" I rearranged the poles according to what I picked up from the instruction book. For a while the only thing keeping up the tent was the top of my head, which I imagined Tina was giggling at from afar, but after a few adjustments the tent snapped to life.

"Alright, you win." She said sticking her head though the Velcro flaps.

"It's only physics, Tee." I said resting back on my hands. My bags were thrown at my chest soon after, and that's when I realized how fun this whole camping thing could be.


	2. Banana Pancakes

**A/N: Whoa, I _totally_ wasn't expecting so much positive feedback from just the first chapter of this. Brownie points for everyone! **

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**It was the sound of the pitter-pattering raindrops on the waterproof canvas roof that woke me the first morning of our camping adventure. Despite the chill that danced among my upper half, I pulled myself out of my cozy red sleeping bag to investigate. The sky looked like a watercolor painting done with various shades of gray. Foggy puddles were scattered randomly about the campsite, each growing in size by the minute as it rained cats and dogs.

Because the effort in attempting to snuggle back up in my sleeping would probably wake Tina, I lounged out on the smooth surface instead. Facing her, I tucked my bottom arm under the pillow, pulling it closer, before laying my head on the raised surface.

Sleep; every person on the planet did so, but no one as beautifully as Tina Cohen-Chang. With her silky black locks draped over her shoulder, her head rested in the ninety-degree angle her right arm made. Waking up next to her was a privilege that I could absolutely get used to.

"Artie, what was that?" A still half asleep Tina asked after a measure of thunder rolled through the sky with the power of a kettledrum.

"Just thunder, now go back to sleep." I said in a low and comforting voice, as I continued to admire her.

"Won't be able to now." She said, responding to a second outburst as she dropped her arms outside her cozy gray cocoon.

"It'll let up soon." I said tightening the pillow in my arm.

Once she woke up more, and brushed the gook from the congruent corners of her eyes, Tina became more talkative. The rain continued to pour at the same rate, but the thunder became less and less frequent during the first hour we were both awake.

"You're squinting, do you want your glasses?" She asked sitting up and folding the unused part of her sleeping over her lap.

"Please." I said rolling back on my shoulders.

Tucking her bare knees to her chest, Tina stood up as much as the tent would allow. The oversized navy blue T-shirt moved with her body as she stepped over my feet to get to the wheelchair where I strategically hung my glasses. She must have taken them off during the night because I clearly remembered her wearing pants to bed. Tina hung my glasses from the collar of her shirt before sitting back on her feet beside me and guiding them over my eyes. In an instant, my vision went from cloudy to crystal clear. I returned to my side as Tina plopped down next to me, placing her face on the pillow next to mine.

"Well don't really need these now, do I?" I laughed as she squirmed to find a comfortable spot.

"Guess not." She smiled, pressing the ball of her nose against mine.

After Tina planted a quick kiss on me, her top lip remained to linger over mine. She looked up at me from under the frames of my glasses as her left hand molded itself upon my chest. I smiled wildly against her mouth before pulling at her waist. If I had the legs that could, I would have wrapped them around her hip to pull her closer, but that's just not the way my body worked. Instead, she bent both of her legs over my knees, though I would have never known if I hadn't looked. Usually I dealt with not feeling below my waist, but it was moments like that where I wished I could. That's kind of why Tina and I had an "above the waist" rule – for her at least. It's not like I was uncomfortable with the idea, I'd just rather have her hands up on my shoulders then down at my hips where I couldn't feel them.

Continuing to battle with my tongue for dominance, she rolled out onto my white T-shirted chest. She repositioned her legs on either side of my pelvic bone. I could vaguely feel her knees press against my sides, which drew a smile across my face. My hands traveled simultaneously down her gentle curves and stopped at the broadest one. The way she was bent at the waist made her T-shirt ride up her back. My fingertips grazed the rough elastic of her underpants – wait till the guys in AV club hear about this.

Still straddling my lap she began to sit up, trailing her hands down my abdomen while doing so. I raised an eyebrow and made a face at her as I angled myself up on my forearms. Tina raised one arm up over her head, causing her shirt to briefly uncover one of her hips, and tugged the elastic band that held her ponytail together. Slipping the black elastic around her wrist, she shook out her luscious black hair until it draped over her shoulders evenly. Another uncultivated smirk appeared on my face and I pushed my upper body up to match the way she was positioned. Before charming me again, she flipped her hair to one side and placed her hands on either side of my jaw. My own hands molded around the upper halves of her smooth thighs.

Soon her grip on the back of my T-shirt signified how much she wanted me out of it. I laughed to myself at her urgency as I reached behind the tag and aided her in the removal of my shirt. As she tossed it off to the side, I realized my glasses went with it, but nothing else mattered to me besides Tina at that point. Only then did she progress all the way up my lap until she was pressed against my chest. I could feel the blood rush from all over my body to one particular area, which as silly as it sounded, was a big thing for someone who rarely felt _anything_ below the waist.

"No fair." I mumbled in a low voice as I took the bottom hem of her shirt into my fingertips. When her body froze and she stopped kissing me, I worried that I crossed a line so I stopped toying with her shirt and returned my hands to her thighs.

"The rain stopped." She stated, pulling away from my face.

"What?" I asked, retrieving some of that blood back into my brain to think.

"I hear footsteps." She panicked standing up off my lap, nearly hitting her head on the ceiling. I listened more carefully as Tina frantically dug through her bedding for matching pajama bottoms, and she was definitely right. Reaching for my crumpled T-shirt on the ground next to me, I found my glasses and frantically put them on my face.

"You'll thank me later." Tina smirked throwing her pillow onto my lap. My cheeks flushed red and I pushed my glasses up with my index finger out of nervous habit.

"Breakfast is ready. Artie, Tina – wake up." My mother called from outside the tent.

"We're up, we're up." I assured, hoping that was good enough to keep her, dad, or Nora out. Thank god for Tina's good ears, because nothing's more awkward then having a member of your family walking in on intimacy.

After finding something to cover my thin and lanky legs, I situated myself in my chair. It never failed to amaze Tina how I managed to lift my whole body up there with only my arms. It wasn't always like that though; it took _years_ to develop such upper body strength.

Because of all the rain, the campsite was disgustingly muddy. Again, not the best conditions for a wheelchair, but I managed with the help of Tina. My whole family was seated around the fire pit while my mother worked the griddle over the open fire. Even from ten feet away I could smell the batter of my mother's signature banana pancakes.

"Good morning." She said wiping her forehead with the back of her hand.

"You could say that." I smirked.


	3. Bottom Feeder

**A/N: So I wouldn't get scolded for not updating, I sat at my computer all Sunday and finished this. It's gonna come back and bite me later when I'm up late doing school work, but oh well. Again, thank you for everyone who has been supporting this story - you guys are great. :)****  
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**After dinner, Tina and I hung around with my family around the campfire. Nora sat with my mother on a log while dad kneeled in front of the fire, tending as needed. Twiddling her thumbs in her lap, Tina sat on the ground with her back against my left wheel. She let me keep her hair in my lap as I amused myself, twirling sections of it between my fingers. When she started to pat a beat on her thighs, I knew she was getting restless from just sitting there, so I proposed a hike before it got too dark.

Tina pushed aside a thorn branch, which would have nailed me in the face otherwise, as we entered the mouth of the trail. Not long after, she got behind the chair to aid with my mobility. She was always so sweet about always helping me around, but sometimes I just wanted to roll and talk with her side by side – it was a lot easier on the neck.

"Here, I got it." I said taking a hold of one of her hands and leading her to the right of me. She held onto my hand for a second before awkwardly letting go. Whenever I saw Finn or even Puck with a significant other at school holding hands as they walked to class, I always envied their ability to perform such a simple public display of affection.

"You sure?" She asked bringing both hands in front of her as he continued down the trail.

"Tina, I don't think I've powered this thing myself since we got here." I laughed.

"Fine, fine." She smiled, loosely placing her left arm over the back of my shoulders. Sure I couldn't hold her hand, but this was second best.

The forest was beautiful, especially with the descending sun flickering though the treetops. Wildflowers, in every color of the rainbow, lined the path in patches. One blossom, however, caught my eye over the rest in an assortment to my left. Taking a firm grip on my wheels, I came to an immediate halt. As Tina took one step on her own, I reached over to the plant and took the stem between my fingers. Realizing that I stopped, she turned around to face me. By then I had the flower in my lap and I rolled the smooth stem between my thumb and pointer finger.

"Is everything alright?" She asked squatting down to the side of me.

"It matches the streaks in your hair." I shyly said displaying the purple flower in front of my chest before holding it out to her.

"It does, doesn't it?" Tina smiled, copying the way I held the flower before tucking it behind her ear.

The trail led us to a clearing that was more then seventy-five percent covered in water – a pond with a small man-made dock that extended no more then ten feet. The sky was now perfectly visible, and the setting orange sun reflected on the surface of the water.

"Come." Tina said sliding her hand down my arm as she made her way up the length of the dock. Slowly, making sure I was clear on both sides, I rolled my way to the edge where Tina was seated. Her yellow lace less Converse sneakers were piled next to her and her bare toes, painted eggshell blue, skimmed the surface of the water. Simultaneously, I curved my arm around the back of her neck as she leaned on my left armrest and placed the side of her face on her forearm.

"How about a swim before the sun sets?" She asked tucking her knees to her chest and standing up.

"I don't think so, Tina." I said, shaking my head and making a face.

"Oh why not?" She protested, placing her hands on her hips.

"Because…it's getting dark. We should be heading back anyways." I said making an excuse to cover up the fact that I haven't tried to swim since the accident that left me paralyzed. Placing her hand on my shoulder, she walked to the front of me until she was straddling my feet. When she took off my glasses and neatly tucked them in her shoe, I thought she was going to kiss me, but boy was I wrong. Instead, she got behind my chair, pushed it to the very edge, and tipped me into the water. Even though it was the equivalent of pushing an able-bodied person into the water, I couldn't help but be a little mad at Tina for taking advantage of me as I floated upwards.

"Artie, you're doing it!" She smiled.

"You could have _killed_ me." I choked, spitting out half a cup of pond water.

"Details, details." She said, pulling her shirt over her head, revealing her gray under-wire bra, before jumping in after me. I closed my eyes in preparation of her splash, but it was unnecessary because she landed five or so feet away from me. Re-submerging herself under the water, Tina swam over to me, and when she came up again, her soggy hair covered half her face. Giggling at her misfortune, I pushed the mass of purple and back where it belonged with one hand while keeping afloat with the other.

With a charming smile, she pushed herself forward and tilted her head to the right. I copied her movement and swooped my bottom lip under hers. We created a slow rhythmic pattern between our lips – making it a perfect and affectionate kiss. She made me feel so special – being in the water with her almost made me forget that I was paralyzed.

"Come to the bottom with me." She said, in an enthusiastic tone, as she pulled away.

Tina was the first to plunge under, and with a gasp of air to fill my lungs I copied her technique. The water was a little murky, and it didn't help that my glasses were up on shore, but I was still able to see fairly well. Her hair stirred with the flow of the water, which made her look both wild and radiant at the same time. She caught me staring and giggled, letting a few bubbles float to the top from her nose, before starting to swim downwards.

It was a short swim considering where we were wasn't any deeper then ten feet. Fish of many shades of brown, red, and yellow swam past my face as I followed Tina down to the bottom of the pond. Once at our destination, she lingered at the plant and rock covered bottom and waited for me to catch up. I became curious of why she wanted to take me down there so badly, especially when she gripped her arms tightly around my waist. The weight of the both of us caused sinking, and just as I began to wonder if Tina was trying to drown me, we stopped. She looked down, I followed her gaze, and sure enough – I was standing. I felt like if I smiled any bigger, I'd drown right there in her arms. Of course it wasn't perfect, quite awkward looking if I might add, but it was what it was.

"I wanna thank you." I said as we retreated back down the dock, both dripping wet.

"For what?" She asked ringing out her hair.

"Everything." I shrugged.

"Not very specific now, are we?" She laughed.

"It's not everyday that I get to add something to the list that I _can_ do, you know."


	4. The Garter Stitch Equilibrium

**A/N: This was one of those chapters where I had to do some researching, but hey, I'm an expert in snakes that resident in Ohio now. Never know when _that_ might come in handy. Anyways, now for something relevant: the song featured in this chapter is called _Sweater Song_ by Hedley. As for the ending of this installment - I'll just let you ****interpret ****that the way you want to. Enough with my ramblings, enjoy chapter four of _Fireflies.  
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Long hikes after dinner became almost customary. With over seven different trails that branched out from our campsite, no path was taken twice. Other then those _amazing_ rainy mornings, our daily strolls though nature were really the only times we got to be alone.

"Artie, I think we're lost." Tina perturbed, glancing up at the treetops, half an hour into our trek back to our campsite.

"No, we're not lost." I said, my voice going into a higher register like it always did under pressure – or in this case, denial.

"We passed this tree _four _times." She said stopping and crossing her arms.

"There's thousands of maple trees in this forest, Tina, they're bound to look alike." I said with a firm push on my wheels.

"But-" She started.

"I'll get us out of here, I promise." I said turning around to face her. When she thought I wasn't looking, she rolled her eyes before catching up with me. Her lack of faith in me couldn't have been blamed – I was a horrible navigator.

The sky turned purple; the color of violets, and the temperature got noticeably colder. Nightfall was close enough to taste, but that didn't necessarily mean that Tina and I made it back. Because her bare arms looked cold, and she was more of a 'suffer in silence' kind of person, I offered her my button down periwinkle sweater. While it fitted me perfectly, the sleeves went well past her metallic purple fingertips. Though she normally wouldn't have been caught dead in a sweater, and joking called the way I dressed an insult to the fashion industry, I couldn't get over how cute she looked in my oversized button down. It was a perfect addition to her low hanging pigtails.

It was the small glow of a lantern in the distance that brought us home; it was the only visible light with the exception of the multicolored luminosity that came off my fore-wheels. It was late so dad probably took Nora in for bed, but mom sat on a log with a novel in her lap. The lantern hung above her shoulder from a branch of a nearby tree. Hearing a squeak that came from the wheel under my right hand, her head shot up, and a sigh of relief came from her mouth.

"Arthur Abrams, I was ready to call a park ranger." She said marking her page before shutting the hardcover book. "I've been waiting outside for you two for hours, do you have _any_ idea what time it is? Artie, you promised you'd be home before dark."

"I'm sorry, really mom. We got lost, that's all – but look, we're home now." I said placing my hand in my lap.

"We'll discuss it in the morning Artie, I'm excused. Goodnight, and _please_ stay out of trouble until then." Mom said standing up.

Tina and I stayed put until she crawled into the tent she shared with Nora and my father. She wasn't _really_ mad, only worried like any good mother of a boy in a wheelchair would. Instead of returning to our own tent immediately, I urged Tina to follow me deeper into the log circle. The fire from dinner was mostly out, with the exception of a few orange-colored charcoals in the center of the fire pit.

"Grab some branches from the edge of the woods, won't you?" I asked Tina.

"Sure." She query responded.

After lowering myself with caution onto the dirt floor, I shifted to a spot almost adjacent to the sedimentary rock circle that kept the fire in place. I couldn't see Tina, but I certainly could hear her as she frolicked around camp – cussing at a rock or two that got in her way. Quietly giggling at her mishaps, I blew at the ashes in hope that the fire would blaze again. My initial plan was smores, but looking up at the stars while munching on raw marshmallows was my backup.

"This enough?" She asked dropping the pile of branches at a knees length before taking a seat in front of me. By then I had a petite flame going that was enough for light, but not for warmth.

"Perfect." I said grabbing a few branches and formally feeding them to the fire.

Before the first roast, I invited Tina to my lap. With a charming smile she maneuvered herself up to my thighs and swung both legs over my lap, pressing her shoulder to my chest. The combination of her body and the fire was a cozy combination, which was much needed considering I was left in a thin cotton button down. I soon learned that she was one of those people who burnt the hell out their marshmallow before consuming. On the other hand, mine had to be evenly _toasted_, not charred.

"Done now?" Tina pestered as I examined my fresh from the fire marshmallow.

"Hit me up." I said removing it from the stick, being careful not to ruin its beauty. On one of the flatter rocks, she broke two honey colored gram-crackers in half before lining up a piece of chocolate on each.

"To summer." She said holding up her charred atrocity of a smore for a toast.

"To summer." I repeated, copying her actions before taking a mouthful of the overpowering sweet goodness.

If the risk of waking my family, especially my mother, weren't so high I would have fetched my acoustic guitar from our tent for a late night, outdoors sing-a-long. It was the perfect opportunity, especially with Tina right in my arms, to sing one of the songs I covered for her. Better quit while ahead, I thought. Catching me off guard, she kissed the left side of my mouth and rolled her tongue in a circle before pulling away. I raised an eyebrow over the frames of my glasses and looked down at her.

"What? There was chocolate on your face." She giggled, nudging me with her shoulder. This caused an immediate playful eye roll from me.

After enjoying the warmth of the fire for a while, I let it die out to the state it was before we came. On the hike up to our tent, Tina switched my mother's lantern off, leaving only the moonlight to guide us. Against my mother's request from three days ago, I accidentally left our tent wide open while we were gone. Luckily, Tina didn't notice.

"It feels _so_ good to get off my feet." She sighed happily, collapsing face first onto her sleeping bag.

"Oh totally." I said parking my wheelchair next to a canvas wall prior to pulling myself up the length of my own sleeping bag. Tina chuckled at my sarcasm, turning only her face towards me, as I got comfortable.

"You know – there's enough room for the both of us over here." I timidly said, scooting over a couple inches.

"Oh?" She smiled, crawling over to my side of the tent. I held my arms open out to her and she landed between them, nuzzling her face against my chest. From the side, I pulled a cozy fleece blanket over the both of us. Her eyes closed, and just as I thought she drifted into slumber, they shot open.

"Artie…did your leg just move?" She asked, resting her chin on a pectoral muscle.

"Uh, no." I said, trying to keep from laughing at her.

"Are you _sure_?" She asked, in now a more serious tone.

"Tina, my legs haven't moved voluntarily since I was _eight_." I said, reassuring her.

"There it is again. Artie, can you at least check?" She asked.

"Fine." I said rolling my eyes, as I flipped my half of our blanket off my body. "Oh damn."

"You okay?" She asked, keeping her eyes glued to my face as she sat up next to me.

"Tina, don't move." I said with wide eyes.

"Artie, what's wrong? You're scaring me." She said following my gaze to our intertwined ankles where a _Timber Rattlesnake_ was coiled. Her eyes nearly popped out of their sockets as she stared down at the serpent. It only took a twitch from its tail to send her into frenzy. With a scream, she shot up, leaving me with the snake.

"Arthur get it out – _now_!" She panted from a distance.

With some hesitation, I grabbed the snake behind its head so it couldn't strike me. It squirmed and opened its mouth, revealing two venomous fangs, out of irritation. With a gulp, I wrapped the vermin in the blanket Tina left.

"Be careful, Art." I heard Tina say in the darkness as I maneuvered myself to the zipper with the contained snake in my lap. That thing was one of the most venomous snakes in Ohio.

"I-is it gone?" She asked.

"It's gone." I said turning to face where her petrified voice came from. She stood on the seat of my wheelchair as much as the tents height would allow. Good thing I put it on lock before getting out of it myself.

"Are you sure?" She asked looking around as I scooted back to my original placement.

"Positive." I said reaching out my hand, inviting her back to cuddle with me. With a gulp, she tiptoed off my wheelchair, and took my hand before taking a seat between my legs. I wrapped my arms around her waist for comfort and rested my chin on her shoulder.

"It didn't get you, did it?" I asked with concern.

"No, no I'm fine." She said.

"Good." I said kissing her temple, giving her a reassuring squeeze.

To get her to relax and trust the world around her again, I sung softly behind her ear and swayed a gentle beat to one of her favorite songs. When her shoulders dropped and breathing went back to normal, I knew she was going to be fine.

"_He said, "back to forever girl, hope you endured the weather girl, now all I wanna do is get you out of that sweater girl_."

"Oh really?" She asked, raising her eyebrows and doing a full turnaround in my lap.

"Because, "_I love the way you flirt, I'm _so_ glad you didn't get hurt, now let me see you naked without that shirt._" She crooned, laying me down with a smirk, and playfully undoing the top fastener of my button down.


	5. Simply Admired

**A/N: Before I start rambling, I'd like to especially thank _tv-matchmaker_ for the earlier shout out! This chapter feels mildly shorter then the rest, probably because I didn't plan on using it. It's a _bit_ of a filler I suppose. Anyways, hooray for updating on time and not letting myself get distracted! :)  
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**When I woke up the next morning, I considered myself to be the luckiest guy in the world - despite being paralyzed from the waist down. There Tina lied with her chin upon her hand, which moved up and down simultaneously with my chest, as she stared up at me with those beautiful dark eyes of hers.

"Hey there, hot stuff." She giggled, stretching her neck to reach my cheek, where she planted a sweet kiss. I smiled and closed my arm tighter around her waist as she settled back down.

"Hi." I managed to say in a low voice, nuzzling my face into her already tousled locks.

With a happy sigh, she ran her hand back and forth across my bare chest once before sinking her fingertips in the crevasse created by my collarbone. I couldn't explain it, but just the way her skin contacted my mine sometimes sent chills up my mutilated spine. Tina Cohen-Chang had complete and utter power over me. I'd sure be a happy person if I woke up to _this_ every morning - just her, just me, just us.

"I'm gonna get dressed." She softly said tapping my chest three times.

"No." I groaned angling my upper half towards her and locking my arms behind her back.

"Artie." She laughed. "Someone's gonna come up to wake us any minute."

"They'll knock." I reasoned.

"Either way, I'd rather not be half naked when the time comes." She said pressing her nose against mine.

"I don't mind." I smirked.

"Okay, Puck." She said.

"Fine, fine." I said returning my arms to my sides. "No need to start with the insults."

Tina rolled her eyes before thoughtfully kissing my forehead. Keeping the blue-gray fleece blanket draped across her chest, she up on her elbows and gazed across the tent to where her bags resided. Even behind her thick black and purple tresses, I could see her flawless back with no deep scar tissue down _her_ spinal column. I may have had the brains, but she definitely had the beauty.

Grabbing the nearest possible articles of clothing for modesty, she less then gracefully made her way across the tent. Sitting on the backs of her feet, she rummaged though her belongings to find something to put over her mismatched set of panties. Out of the corner of her eye, she caught me staring out of admiration, but instead of calling me upon it like she usually did, she simple smiled and went back to what she was doing.

By the time she got to putting on a light layer of make up, which I didn't see reasoning behind, I was still at rest with the extra blanket Tina left behind in my arms. Knowing her usual morning routine, I knew she'd be finished soon and ready to set off in a matter of minutes, but I still couldn't find it in me to drag myself out of bed.

"You know things would be a lot easier if you just came back under here with me, right?" I asked slipping my hand under my chin.

"My empty stomach tells me otherwise." She smirked glancing at me from her compact mirror.

"Oh…I see how it is." I said playfully crossing my arms over my chest.

"Artie, get up." She sighed in a laughing way as she threw the pillow atop her own sleeping bag. Only after she threatened to get my sister to aid with getting me out of bed, did I start to move. This was mostly only because I was ninety-nine percent sure I wasn't wearing pants under the blanket that consumed my body.

"Morning kids." Dad said raising his coffee mug in the air.

I looked over to my mother who looked beat. Being a natural early riser, she was probably up for hours. Guilt began to strike me for making her worry so much that she had to stay up and wait for Tina and me to return home. Locking me in place near the edge of one of the logs, Tina fetched the both of us breakfast from the heating plate over the fire. She looked especially fiery today in her brick red T-shirt that complemented her figure.

"Hey Art?" Nora asked leaning in at me.

"What?" I asked after swallowing the contents of my mouth.

"What's on your neck?" She said with an evil smirk. I froze completely and looked at Tina from the corners of my eyes. She bit down on her lip hard and made a face as the word 'oops' formed between her lips.

"It's…well I – I mean we," I panicked.

"It's just a little bruise." Tina added. "Must have happened when you _ran over a root in the dark on our way home_".

"Yeah." I assured, shocked at her on the spot, yet reasonable, lie.

"Are you alright?" Mom panicked as dad rolled her eyes at her.

"Fine, mom." I said.

"See, that's why you two shouldn't have been out so _late_ last night." She said.

"Won't happen again." Tina smiled, with a nod. Nora narrowed her eyes at me as she stuck a fork full of scrabbled eggs in her mouth. She didn't buy Tina's story a bit, and I kind of wondered how my parents fell for it, but I definitely wasn't complaining. Maybe _that_ was why my mother initially arranged Nora to bunk with me in the first place – but where's the fun in that?


	6. Drops of Jupiter

"Artie? Artie, wake up."

A hand, obviously Tina's, rubbed back and forth upon my shoulder. Still half asleep, I rolled my upper body to face her. It was dark, and my glasses were off, so all I saw was a blurry black silhouette sitting beside me.

"I have to go to the bathroom." She said retracting her hand from my shoulder.

"Oh, okay." I yawned, returning to my previous sleep position and hugging my pillow.

"Arthur!" She called again, this time with more determination. "I mean _now_."

"Then go." I groaned.

"By…myself?" She asked in a troubled voice.

"You're a big girl." I mocked.

"But it's dark," She whimpered. "Artie _please_ come with me."

I turned back onto my shoulders and looked up at her. "Fine," I sighed. "Let me find a shirt."

With a biodegradable roll of toilette paper and a shovel in one hand, Tina waked beside me though the campsite. Mom designated a spot, across the half-acre meadow and into the woods, for stuff like this. Because the untamed assortment of grasses came up to her ankles, Tina got behind me and maneuvered the chair. Damn strait, she woke me up at three-o'clock in the morning.

"Thank you for coming with me." She said stopping in front of the forest and circulating to the side of me.

"Yeah, yeah – just hurry up." I mumbled.

As I waited for Tina, mosquitoes buzzed around my head. My legs were free game, considering I was too lazy to pull on a pair of sweatpants over my boxers, but I guess it didn't really matter considering I couldn't feel them anyways. I already came to terms with a few on my arms, which I wasn't happy about at all. Just as I was about to call for her to hurry up, she emerged from the covert. The flashlight in one of her hands led her way back to me.

"Shall we?" She asked putting the total contents of her hands in my lap before getting behind my chair. Getting though the meadow this time was easier, but only slightly because of the path made on our way down.

"Artie look at the stars." Tina said in awe as she eased to a stop.

"We have the same ones back home, you know." I said looking back at her.

"No – not like this." She said drifting to the right of me. Her hand was the last thing to leave my chair as she wandered deeper and deeper towards the center of the field as if drawn by something supernatural. Having no other choice, I reluctantly followed her footsteps. Rolling though the think grass was a lot more difficult on my own, especially with the uneven and bumpy turf, but it was nothing I couldn't handle. When I finally caught up to Tina, she was lounged out in the grass with an arm under her head and knees pointed directly up at the sky.

"Come lay in the grass with me." She said, continuing to look up at the atmosphere.

"Tina, it's late." I said placing my hands in my lap.

"Please? It's our last night here." She said.

"Well, I _guess _it'd be a good opportunity to observe the northern hemisphere's constellations." I answered with a nod after a moment of thought.

Placing the contents of my lap on the ground next to my left wheel before hand, I lowered myself to the earth. The grass was slightly damp against the bottom of my hands, but it wasn't enough to soak though clothing. Once a foot away from Tina, I laid myself parallel with her body. Sitting up, she rotated her body ninety degrees before laying her head back down on my abdomen. I slipped my arm under her elbow and placed my one hand on top of her two that rested below her breasts.

"See the star right above us?" I asked pointing up to the night sky. "The big bright one? That's Polaris. It's part of Ursa Minor, and is visible everywhere in the northern hemisphere."

"Ursa Minor…that's Little Bear right?" She asked.

"Exactly." I smiled with a nod of approval.

As time went on, I actually became glad Tina dragged me outside so early in the morning. She was right; this was different. Here there were no artificial lighting and you could see almost every star perfectly in front of their velvet backing.

In the blink of an eye, a beam of light sailed across the sky – a shooting star.

"You know, I used to wish that the accident never happened. That was silly though; you can't turn back the clock no matter how many times you plead." I said continuing to look into the heavens.

"Artie…" She sympathized.

"Let me finish." I interrupted, patting her hand. "Now I'm just thankful that the damage wasn't more severe, you know? More then I'd like, but easily I could have lost everything from the neck down."

"We'd manage." She smiled after a moment of silence.

"You'd still want me?" I asked, slightly taken back.

"Of course, you silly – silly boy." She said. My first initial thought was, who'd want to be in a relationship with someone who couldn't even administrate a _hug_, but then I stopped myself. It was Tina for Christ's sake, if she accepted _this_, then there was no doubt that she completely meant what she said.

From under the rims of my glasses, I noticed a blinking yellow light on my chest. With a smile, I titled my chin down to get a better look at the lonely little firefly crawling aimlessly above my ribcage.

"Did you know fireflies choose their mates based on light pattern?" I asked after the beetle flickered once more. Tina raised an eyebrow at me before following my gaze. With a grin, she rolled over onto her stomach and piled her arms on the warm spot where her head used to be.

"Sorry buddy." She said laying her hand flat on my chest and letting the firefly wander onto her hand. "I'm not willing to share."

I laughed at her gesture as the bug crawled to the tip of her middle finger and balanced on the edge of her nail before taking off into the sky to join its comrades. I followed our acquaintance with my eyes until it got lost among the other fifty or so others dancing in the sky. Tina sighed happily before resting her chin on her top wrist. But no matter how many fireflies were in the sky, there was only one light at mattered to me, and she was lying right before my eyes.


	7. Sweet Pea, Apple of my Eye

**A/N: I am _so_ sorry for not finishing this sooner - especially because it's the final chapter, but hey it's finally up. Good news, I'm out of school now so you can expect a lot more out of me within the next three months. I have a couple one shots up my sleeve, and maybe even a full story or two that I plan to start - so stay tuned. Until then, happy reading. :)  
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**With her left hand molded over the back of my shoulder, Tina paced herself beside me up the trail we came down seven days ago. The rest of my able-bodied family marched a good fifteen feet ahead of us, but that was expected. It took a very patient and understanding person to walk with a kid in a wheelchair, soft footing aside. I definitely questioned my parent's judgment when they first brought me here, I thought that it was going to be another failed family outing, but it took Tina to make me realize that just because there wasn't a wheelchair friendly sticker marking a territory – didn't mean I couldn't concur it.

"What'cha thinking about?" She asked retracting her hand to meet the other one in front of her thighs.

I snapped out of meditation and adjusted my glasses that were slipping down my nose, "Just how _fun_ this has been," I said.

"I agree." She smiled, looking down at me. "Lets do it again."

"Good luck with that." I said shaking my head on a push forward.

"Fine," She said after a pause. "Bonfire in my back yard and a makeshift tent?"

"Sure beats climbing your stairs." I smirked. She smiled and rolled her eyes before returning the back of her forearm to back of my neck. Sadly enough, I wasn't kidding about the whole stair deal. I've been up to my girlfriend's bedroom _once _throughout our time together – and that includes the period where we were just really close friends.

Mid sentence, Tina got her foot caught in a displaced root. Stumbling, she tried to catch her balance, and in a blink of an eye she plummeted with a thump against the forest floor. I let out a small worried gasp and turned ninety degrees towards her. With her yellow beanie covered head was face first into the dirt, and her hands were flat against the ground as if she was doing push ups.

"A-are you okay?" I asked bending at the waist. She picked up her head and spit out an emerald green maple leaf and a few wood chips.

"Splendid." She dryly said.

"Are you sure? Should I get help?" I panicked.

"Artie, I only tripped." She laughed picking up her torso. "Now help me up."

"Right." I nodded backing myself up to her. After brushing debris off the front of her shirt, she pulled herself up to a standing position using my armrest to aid her. She winced once she got both feet on the ground and favored her left ankle.

"Tina," I started looking up at her over the rims of my glasses.

"It's fine_._" She cut off, taking a step forward. "Ow, ow – okay"

"Come here." I said rolling my eyes as I wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her onto my lap. "Get comfortable."

"Artie, no." She sweetly said bracing herself on the armrests.

"Nuh-uh, you're hurt." I said wrapping my arms around the top of her pelvic bone to prevent escape.

After she _insisted_ that her injury was nonexistent, and could indeed walk, I let her go. As predicted, she let out a squeak of pain and immediately settled back down in my lap. With a satisfied smile I started forward once again, this time a tad slower, but equally steady. She kissed the side of my face out of appreciation and for security; linked her fingers behind my neck and leaned into my chest. Just by the way she looked up at me, I could tell _exactly_ what she was thinking: _"How did I get so lucky?"_

"Tina what happened?" Mom asked closing the trunk of our car as Tina and I emerged out of the forest.

"She got acquainted with the forest floor." I smirked.

"Oh ha-ha." She dryly chuckled.

"Mark, get her some ice from the cooler." Mom said to my father.

Because the wheelchair accessible opening to the van wasn't wide enough to carry Tina though without banging her up even more, she held onto the doorway and hopped up the ramp on her good leg. I rolled in after her, and before I got the chance to close the door after me, dad threw a Ziploc bag filled with ice in my lap. Maneuvering the chair and locking it in place to face Tina, I made a plan to take care of her. Holding the bag by one of the stronger corners with my teeth, I bent at the waist to gently bring her injured ankle into my lap. I removed her yellow lace less shoe to fully uncover her already swollen injury.

"Looks like a sprain." I said dropping the plastic bag out of my mouth.

"Okay, Dr. Abrams – well what now?" She asked.

"This will help the swelling." I said flipping the ice onto her ankle. She shivered and Goosebumps began to appear up her shin.

"Sorry." I sympathized.

"Oh great." Nora said stepping into the van. "Two cripples."

"_Nora!_" Mom scolded turning back from the passenger seat.

"What?" She asked the seat furthest from Tina.

"You _know_ what." She said staring at my sister with a serious face before turning around to face the front. I bit my lip and looked down from the corners of my eyes. Tina lightly tapped my arm with the end of her foot and sweetly smiled at me. Out of everyone in my immediate family, Nora was the least understanding of my disability. Sure people called me worse things at school, but hearing it from family was different.

On the way home, Tina and I shared a set of headphones and listened to the playlist entitled "favorites" on Tina's music player. When a song we both knew well came on, we mouthed it to each other while jamming out in the back. Nora only complained about 'not being able to hear herself think' when we actually did sing – and nobody wanted to upset the queen.

Because of a bad accident that happened across the highway, and no available detours, we were stuck in traffic for hours. My throat constricted when we passed the crushed silver Sedan and the shipping truck that lay on its side close by. We had had a car just like that once.

It took twice as long then it should have to reach home. The sun was almost completely hidden by the horizon once we pulled into the driveway. On the bright side though, Tina's ankle was less swollen – but no less bruised. She still couldn't walk well, and I honestly didn't want her to anyways, so I carried her and her bags inside.

"Home sweet home." I said rolling into my neat and tidy bedroom.

Before checking up on my fish tank, I let Tina transfer from my lap to my bed. She tossed the, then completely melted, bag of ice in the trashcan and laid across the width of my bed with her head against the wall.

"Ah – a _real_ bed." She sighed happily. I smiled at her joy and rolled myself across the room to where she was – shifting from chair to bed. Tina opened one eye before she copied the way I was seated. Nudging at her shoulder, I non-verbally asked her to lie down, and she did so after collecting her hair to one side. Once I was situated behind her back, she curled up her legs on the surface of my plaid comforter.

"You know what I'm gonna miss the _most_ about camping?" I asked resting my top arm over her waist.

"What?" She giggled, looking back at me for a moment.

"Waking up like this." I said.

"Eh." She said scooting back into my chest, taking my hand into one of hers, and closing her eyes. "The Summer's still young."


End file.
